Passive optical networks are becoming prevalent in part because service providers want to deliver high bandwidth communication capabilities to customers. Passive optical networks are a desirable choice for delivering high-speed communication data because they may not employ active electronic devices, such as amplifiers and repeaters, between a central office and a subscriber termination. The absence of active electronic devices may decrease network complexity and/or cost and may increase network reliability.
FIG. 1 illustrates a network 10 deploying fiber optic lines. As shown, the network 10 can include a central office 11 that connects a number of end subscribers 15 (also called end users 15 herein) in a network. The central office 11 can additionally connect to a larger network such as the Internet (not shown) and/or a public switched telephone network (PSTN). The network 10 can also include fiber distribution hubs (FDHs) 13 that distribute optical signals to the end users 15. The various lines of the network 10 can be aerial or housed within underground conduits.
The portion of the network 10 that is closest to central office 11 is generally referred to as the F1 region, where F1 is the “feeder fiber” from the central office 11. The portion of the network 10 closest to the end users 15 can be referred to as an F2 portion of network 10. The network 10 includes a plurality of break-out locations 12 at which branch cables are separated out from the main cable lines. Branch cables are often connected to drop terminals 14, for example, via fiber distribution hubs 13. The drop terminals 14 include connector interfaces for facilitating coupling of the fibers of the branch cables to a plurality of different subscriber locations 15.